In the Matter of a Mail Dispute                                )
Between                                                                )
                                                                               )
JAMES A. WHITE                                                    )
                                                                               )
and                                                                         )
                                                                               )
DEREK GUYTON                                                    )    P. S. Docket No. MD-185

APPEARANCE FOR MR. WHITE:                            None.

APPEARANCE FOR MR. GUYTON:                        None.

INITIAL DECISION

This mail dispute was forwarded for resolution pursuant to Domestic Mail Manual ("DMM") § 153.72, which requires Regional Counsel to forward certain unresolved mail disputes to this Department for decision. The mail in dispute is addressed to Memorial Baptist Church, 5301-17 Wayne Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144-6201. Neither Disputant James A. White ("Disputant White") nor Disputant the Reverend Derek Guyton ("Disputant Guyton or Reverend Guyton") have filed submittals as required by 39 C.F.R. § 965.5. Nevertheless, there is sufficient information in the record to support a decision in this matter. The following findings of fact and conclusions of law are based upon the documentation forwarded by the Office of Field Legal Services.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Memorial Baptist Church located at 5301-17 Wayne Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144-6201 ("the Church") is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation.

2. The Disputants are two leaders of the Church. Disputant White is the chairman of the board of trustees. The seven (7) member board of trustees is responsible for the financial practices of the Church and overall management of church property. The board also oversees the work of the financial secretary and the church treasurer. The trustees are specifically directed to have the financial records of the Church audited annually. (Constitution and By-laws, Article VII, Section Three--The Board of Trustees).

3. Reverend Guyton has been serving as the pastor or senior elder of the Church. This position is filled by an individual who is chosen by vote of the members of the Church at a properly called business meeting. A pastor or senior elder may be removed if he has morally or spiritually disqualified himself from further service or if he should be unable to fulfill his responsibilities for any reason. The procedure for removing a pastor is by vote of the members of the Church, upon the recommendation of the elders, at a properly called business meeting. (Constitution and By-laws, Article VIII, Section One--The Position of Pastor or Senior Elder).

4. On February 22, 1993, Disputant White wrote to the members of the board of trustees informing them that checks had been written on the account of the Church in excess of the amounts authorized by the board of trustees. On February 25, Disputant White wrote to Disputant Guyton requesting release of the financial records of the Church. On March 1, Disputant White wrote to the church treasurer suspending all financial activity because of the problems he was experiencing in gaining access to the financial records of the Church.

5. On March 24, 1993, church members held a business meeting and unanimously voted to remove Reverend Guyton as pastor. The grounds for his removal included an allegation that he had retained possession of the financial records of the Church despite repeated written requests to turn over the records to the board of trustees. It was also alleged that he had misrepresented to the bank that Disputant White had been removed as chairman of the board of trustees.

6. By a document entitled "NOTIFICATION" which was notarized on March 27, 1993, and signed by Reverend Guyton, the treasurer, the financial secretary, and one of the trustees, Disputant White was purportedly removed as a member of the board of trustees effective February 1, 1993.

7. Disputant White and Louis R. Jones, chairman of the board of deacons, filed a motion on behalf of the Church in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, seeking to remove Reverend Guyton from his position as pastor of the Church and occupant of the parsonage.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. Neither Disputant has filed a submission as required by the rules of practice governing mail dispute proceedings. Both Disputants are therefore in default. 39 C.F.R. § 965.7. The evidence in the record primarily consists of a copy of the Constitution and By-laws of the Church and copies of correspondence to or from the Disputants.

2. There is no provision in the Constitution and By-laws of the Church for removal from office of the chairman of the board of trustees by the pastor, acting alone, or in conjunction with church financial officers and/or one of the trustees. Furthermore, the "NOTIFICATION" purporting to remove Disputant White from office cites no reasons for taking such action. As chairman of the board of trustees, Disputant White was clearly acting within his authority in seeking to have the financial records of the Church audited and in directing the financial secretary to suspend the financial activities of the Church until an audit could be conducted. Disputant Guyton therefore acted outside of this authority in attempting to remove Disputant White from the board of trustees.

3. A pastor of the Church may be removed upon the recommendation of the elders in a properly called business meeting, if the pastor has "either morally or spiritually disqualified himself from further service in th[e] church" or is otherwise unable to fulfill his responsibilities. (Constitution and By-laws, Article VIII, Section One--The Position Of Pastor Or Senior Elder, ¶ 4).

4. The record evidence shows that members of the Church voted in a properly called business meeting to remove Reverend Guyton for alleged actions in "contradiction [of] the scripture, the church constitution, and the church covenant." (Letter To Reverend Guyton dated March 24, 1993, signed by Louis R. Jones, Chairman Board of Deacons). Since the procedures for removal of a pastor set out in the Constitution and By-laws were followed by the church members, Reverend Guyton was properly removed as the pastor or senior elder of the Church. Accordingly, the mail in dispute should be delivered as directed by James A. White, chairman of the board of trustees.

5. However, if a court holds that Reverend Guyton was not properly removed, or that the mail should be delivered as directed by him, then delivery of the mail shall be made in accordance with the order of the court. DMM § 153.73.

6. Resolution of this dispute determines only the right to delivery of the mail. It does not determine the question of ownership. If either party to this dispute receives any mail intended for the other, that party is responsible for assuring delivery of the mail to the correct recipient.

7. The attached mail delivery order should be issued.

Judith Ann Dowd
Administrative Law Judge